Scottish forest pitch to be part of Cultural Olympiad

An area of forest in the Borders is being turned into a temporary football pitch for an art project forming part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

The brainchild of Edinburgh-based artist Craig Coulthard, the site at Clarilawmuir, near Selkirk, is being transformed as part of the Forest Pitch project, which will see teams take to a full-size pitch specially created within a commercial forest.

Yesterday, the artist met schoolchildren who have submitted designs for the strips which will be worn by the four amateur teams taking part in the event.

Part of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival, Forest Pitch involves the creation of a football pitch by felling trees on land owned by the Duke of Buccleuch.

The felled trees are being used to create goalposts, a shelter and a series of other structures on site, while the pitch is being made using recycled topsoil from a local football ground.

Two amateur matches – one between male teams and the other female – will be played by those who have only recently become British citizens and are currently living in Scotland.

Once the event is over, the shelter will remain and the site will be allowed to grow naturally. It will remain publicly accessible for up to 60 years, the organisers said.

Mr Coulthard, 30, said he had been inspired to come up with the idea after revisiting a woodland football pitch where he had played during his childhood in Germany.

He said: “I used to play football on a pitch in the middle of a forest in Germany. I revisited it while I was working in Düsseldorf and found it had been abandoned. At first I was quite sad and disappointed, but I found it interesting how it had a life of its own and had developed while I was away.

“I think this will be one of the more unusual locations used during the Olympics, but it’s not just a sporting venue, it’s an artwork that changes and develops as time goes on.”

Mr Coulthard said the purpose of using players who had only recently become British citizens was part of the Olympic message of “welcoming the world”.

Leonie Bell, Creative Scotland’s creative programmer for London 2012 and Glasgow 2014, added: “Forest Pitch is an intricate mix of landscape and sport, diverse communities and generations.

“Everyone involved will be able to return to the site time and time again, reliving one unique day and watching the power of nature slowly envelop the site.

“Craig’s work has layers of texture, blending together the natural environment and human experience with a snapshot of a moment in time.”

The winning designs for the four football strips used during the event will be chosen from around 1,000 entries in the new year.